GREENSTONE — Sometimes, you want to go where everybody knows your name.
The Geraldton District Hospital is now looking to fill one full-time physician role, amid growing success with their nurse-practitioner led emergency room initiative that began three years ago.
Dougall Media caught up with the hospital’s CAO, Darryl Galusha, to learn more about how the NP initiative is going and how it has affected the delivery of health care for residents in the Geraldton ward and across Greenstone as a whole.
“We’re really working with that and we’re seeing a lot of positive outcomes such as lower ER wait times, increased patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and we’re able to recruit locum positions,” he said.
“Coupled with that, we’re getting lots of positive recruitment with our nursing staff. We’ve moved away from having agency nurses in our acute care and ER.”
He said around 93 per cent of emergency room visits are attended by nurse-practitioners.
He also added that the Geraldton District Hospital has a board of directors who are passionate about their community and their passion is reflected in their approach to running the hospital.
“We have got a very strong board that’s really dedicated to the community – that gives clear directions, that really wants to keep the ER open and keep the hospital staffed. Those are the big things.
“We’re trying to focus on what’s working: investing in the staff and making sure all of the staff – support services, lab, X-ray, maintenance – that we’re doing a lot to make sure the staff are happy,” he said.
And, with management and senior management succession plans in-place for the next 25 years, Galusha said there is a sense of security and longevity for staff at the hospital.
Not only that, Galusha’s team are all people local to Greenstone and Northern Ontario.
“Our succession planning is based on keeping and retaining local people for these positions. We’re seeing in health care – in management and senior management, at least – a big exodus with retirements and people not wanting to step into these roles. It’s difficult to recruit in these small Northern communities and we’re lucky enough to be able to focus locally to get highly qualified people,” he said.
One of the biggest draws to Geraldton District Hospital for prospective medical practitioners is its focus on achieving a healthy work-life balance, according to Galusha.
He said what Greenstone and the region have to offer is perfect for younger professionals looking to start their careers.
“It’s still cost-effective to live in these small communities. Young people can buy houses at reasonable prices. There’s lots of work, and we have a lot of young professionals. We continue to recruit and retain people that are of the same age. We’ve got a very young group of nurses and health-care professionals across the board.
“We’re really focusing on what we can offer and we can offer good quality of life, good work environment, good work-life balance. We’re investing in the staff – more education, training in the ER, multiple different training (opportunities). They also get the time off that they need. They get the days off and vacations when we can offer it, and we try to really work with the staff to meet their needs,” he said.
In terms of what might bring a full-time doctor to the Geraldton District Hospital, Galusha said he and the board are trying to “learn from the mistakes” of past health-care providers.
“Doctors are more than doctors. They’re parents, they’re spouses, they’re more. We want them to be able to have a good quality of life – and that’s what gets lost along the way. We lose sight of the fact that doctors are more than just what they’re providing, they’re people, and we need to try to meet their needs, give them what they’re looking for, and really try to help them out.
“They want days off. They want to spend time with their kids, they want to go on vacation, and we are really focusing on the human aspect of recruitment and retention for our staff,” he said.
The Geraldton District Hospital is also seeking two new board members from members of the community.
Galusha described what he and his team look for in potential board members.
“We want people that really want to be invested in providing and giving back to the community. We’ve got a great mix of board members, very knowledgeable, a good balance of life experiences, and we want that to lead the hospital,” he said.
“That’s who I respond to. I’m the only employee of the board and they give me very clear direction on what they’re looking for from their hospital and we try to do that.”
For those interested in applying or simply looking for more information, head over to geraldtondh.com/careers.